Thibodaux legislator zeroes in on school performance

Published: Monday, April 1, 2013 at 10:50 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, April 1, 2013 at 10:50 a.m.

BATON ROUGE — A Lafourche Parish lawmaker wants the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to begin seeking approval from the Legislature when it changes school performance scores.

Rep. Dee Richard of Thibodaux, who has no party affiliation, has also introduced legislation to change the eligibility requirements for the state's new Course Choice Program, which offers students classes outside of their public school.

Both proposals will be debated during the regular session that begins next Monday.

House Bill 346 focuses on the way BESE calculates school performance scores, which are based on student achievement on standardized tests and additional measures of student success, such as credit accumulation, completion of rigorous courses and graduation rates.

The legislation specifies that BESE would not be allowed to make any changes to school performance scores unless they are approved by the House and Senate education committees.

Richard, a former school board member who sits on the House Education Committee, said lawmakers only meet in legislative session for a few months out of the year, whereas BESE meets once a month.

“I know BESE is a policymaking body, but we should have some oversight of that process,” Richard said. “They're meeting more often than we do, and they're changing some of the directives that we pass.”

Richard's House Bill 249 changes the definition of a failing school under the state's Course Choice Program.

Under current law, a failing school is one that has been given a letter grade of “C,” “D,” or “F.”

Richard's bill would define a “C” school as one that is passing.

The program, mostly paid for by the state, offers eligible students classes ranging from advanced placement to vocational training.

Online courses are available as well. They are used to help calculate each school's performance score.

“I really don't think we need to be looking at ‘C' schools as failing schools,” Richard said. “I can understand that a ‘D' school or ‘F' school is failing, but not a ‘C' school.”

The idea behind the Course Choice Program is to allow students in under-performing schools to pursue classes and instruction outside of the failing institution.

Both of Richard's bills have been assigned to the House Education Committee.

<p>BATON ROUGE — A Lafourche Parish lawmaker wants the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to begin seeking approval from the Legislature when it changes school performance scores. </p><p>Rep. Dee Richard of Thibodaux, who has no party affiliation, has also introduced legislation to change the eligibility requirements for the state's new Course Choice Program, which offers students classes outside of their public school. </p><p>Both proposals will be debated during the regular session that begins next Monday.</p><p>House Bill 346 focuses on the way BESE calculates school performance scores, which are based on student achievement on standardized tests and additional measures of student success, such as credit accumulation, completion of rigorous courses and graduation rates.</p><p>The legislation specifies that BESE would not be allowed to make any changes to school performance scores unless they are approved by the House and Senate education committees. </p><p>Richard, a former school board member who sits on the House Education Committee, said lawmakers only meet in legislative session for a few months out of the year, whereas BESE meets once a month. </p><p>“I know BESE is a policymaking body, but we should have some oversight of that process,” Richard said. “They're meeting more often than we do, and they're changing some of the directives that we pass.”</p><p>Richard's House Bill 249 changes the definition of a failing school under the state's Course Choice Program. </p><p>Under current law, a failing school is one that has been given a letter grade of “C,” “D,” or “F.”</p><p>Richard's bill would define a “C” school as one that is passing. </p><p>The program, mostly paid for by the state, offers eligible students classes ranging from advanced placement to vocational training. </p><p>Online courses are available as well. They are used to help calculate each school's performance score. </p><p>“I really don't think we need to be looking at 'C' schools as failing schools,” Richard said. “I can understand that a 'D' school or 'F' school is failing, but not a 'C' school.” </p><p>The idea behind the Course Choice Program is to allow students in under-performing schools to pursue classes and instruction outside of the failing institution. </p><p>Both of Richard's bills have been assigned to the House Education Committee. </p><p>The regular session is scheduled to adjourn June 6.</p><p>Jeremy Alford can be reached at jeremy@jeremyalford.com.</p>